Worried About Dementia?
Experts (including from the Harvard Chan School of Public Health in the USA) have created a special diet known as the Mind Diet which could help to prevent or delay thinking and memory problems.
In their research, those experts looked at data for over fourteen thousand people with an average age of sixty four over a period of ten years - and found that a healthy diet was crucial for good mental health.
While estimates vary, experts report that in the USA more than seven million people aged sixty five or older had dementia in 2020. If current demographic and health trends continue, more than nine million Americans could have dementia by 2030 and nearly twelve million by 2040.
What is the Mind Diet?
With the growing number of people worldwide who are suffering from dementia, it has become more urgent than ever to find ways and changes that people can make to prevent conditions such as dementia.
The Mind Diet is rich in leafy vegetables, nuts and beans. The suggested healthy items include three or more servings a day of whole grains, six or more servings a week of green leafy vegetables and one or more servings a day of other vegetables.
And then there is the "including flavonoid-rich foods" in the diet too
Flavonoids which are primarily found in plant foods have a large range of health benefits. These include antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and have been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease as well as improved cognitive function.
Foods rich in flavonoids include berries, tea, red wine and dark chocolate and increasing such foods and drinks can help to reduce the risk of developing dementia.
In another study led by a team of researchers at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, evidence has shown that risk factors such as diet can play an important role in dementia prevention. This becomes more important than ever when you read that around a million people in the UK live with dementia - rising to a projected one point four million by 2040.
More on the Irish study
Professor Aedin Cassidy who led the study said:
"The worldwide prevalence of dementia continues to increase rapidly. In this study, we analysed dietary data from over twelve thousand adults aged between forty and seventy years from the UK Biobank. Our findings show that consuming six additional servings of flavonoid-rich foods per day - in particular berries, tea and red wine - was associated with a twenty eight percent lower risk of dementia.
He went on to say:
"The findings were most noticeable in those with a high genetic risk as well as those with symptoms of depression."
In conclusion, the researchers pointed out that the results provided a clear public health message as they suggest a simple measure such as increasing daily consumption of flavonoid-rich foods may lower dementia risk - especially in populations at high risk.
SOURCES:
MIND Diet Slows Cognitive Decline, Especially in Two Groups
healthnews.com/news/flavonoid-rich-food-dementia-risk/
Written by Jane Chitty
Jane writes for Healing Natural Oils, a producer and retailer of high-quality, all-natural treatments for a variety of conditions as well as a range of beauty products. Apart from writing about those various conditions, she also covers general health, environmental and other subjects of interest. She has lived in Kenya as well as Cape Town, South Africa and spent time in San Diego, USA. She now lives in Somerset, England with regular visits from her far-flung children and grandchildren. She is a keen gardener and enjoys growing fresh fruit and vegetables with her husband on their joint allotment. As a result, there is something available to use in the kitchen virtually all year round. Her regular posts can be found on our blog.